By Isaac FRIMPONG (Ph.D.)
Almost eight decades ago, the influential Beveridge report laid the foundation for the welfare state in the United Kingdom (UK). I reference this report for two reasons: first, it shows how the UK addressed persistent social problems, and second, it highlights how it inspired countries globally to craft social policies to address similar challenges.
The report identified and categorized social problems into five “evil giants”—want, disease, ignorance, squalor, and idleness—that must be eliminated to achieve social progress. Whether the UK has completely eradicated these challenges is a subject for future discussion.
These ‘giants’ are also present in Ghana, albeit in different forms and contexts. The underlying principle is clear: mitigating or eliminating these challenges will improve the well-being of the Ghanaian people.
Social policies, therefore, are initiatives designed to safeguard and enhance the well-being of the population. This article examines the state’s efforts in tackling these ‘giants.’
Historical Context
In post-independence Ghana, the quest for social justice, unity, and equity led to the establishment of several social policy programmes aimed at tackling social challenges. The Nkrumah administration, recognising the need to address these issues, initiated policies to promote universal education (to fight ignorance), healthcare (disease), and housing (to reduce squalor).
Despite their ambitious nature, these early initiatives faced numerous challenges, including economic instability and political disturbance.
In the 1980s, Ghana adopted the Structural Adjustment Programme, which shifted policy focus from broad social policies to targeted social protection measures aimed at mitigating the impact of economic adjustments on the populace.
However, it is crucial to differentiate between social policy and social protection. For example, social policy is like a smartphone with diverse apps, while social protection is the essential security app on the smartphone that safeguards against specific risks.
In recent years, as argued by Adesina, the focus has turned to cash transfers as the policy instrument for addressing social challenges.
This shift can be attributed to factors such as limited state funding to tackle these challenges comprehensively, wholesale adoption of donor-driven policies, or the misconception that social policy is merely an afterthought following economic policy. Social policies, which should encompass universal coverage, ought to be supplemented by targeted instruments, not the other way around.
The gains so far Housing
In its early years, Ghana made significant strides in addressing squalor through poverty eradication initiatives, improved sanitation, and state-led housing projects. Efforts focused on providing decent housing for the growing urban population, prioritising individuals in the armed forces (army, navy, and airforce), police service, prison service, teachers, nurses, doctors, and some officials in the judiciary.
Additionally, social housing also sprung up to serve the broader population. However, over time, the rise of internal migration and urbanisation fueled by population growth have outpaced housing development, particularly in the administrative capitals of Ghana’s sixteen regions, leading to an acute housing shortage.
Consequently, informal settlements, often without basic amenities such as water, sanitation, schools, and clinics, have become a prevalent solution to the housing crisis. Additionally, while waste collection efforts have improved, sanitation remains a pressing issue in major cities and towns.
Education
Education, seen as a key tool against ignorance, has been a central pillar of Ghana’s social policy since independence. Defined as the “process of giving and receiving standardised systematic instruction from a recognised institution for knowledge acquisition and skill development,” education has seen several initiatives.
The introduction of Free Universal Primary Education by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme in the 1990s and the recent Free Senior High School policy have all aimed to ensure that every Ghanaian child had access to education.
The expansion of tertiary education to include private providers and initiatives such as the Student Loan Trust have further increased education accessibility.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” It is no surprise that the 2021 Ghana Populations and Housing Census reports that four out of five individuals aged three years and older have either attended or are currently attending school. Nationally, the literacy rate—indicating an ability to read and write with understanding in at least one language—for those aged six years and older is almost 70 percent. This is good news.
Health
Disease, another social challenge, has been addressed through various healthcare initiatives, improved disease reporting and control, enhanced diagnostics, expanded healthcare infrastructure, and the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003.
The NHIS aimed to provide affordable healthcare to all Ghanaians, significantly reducing the burden of out-of-pocket expenses—a system that was strengthened as part of the structural adjustment programme in 1983.
Despite these efforts, access to universal healthcare remains uneven, particularly among those who are in non-standard employment.
Traditional healthcare practices, such as the use of traditional medicine, predating formal healthcare delivery, and the NHIS, continue to play a vital role in Ghana’s healthcare system, often filling the gaps left by formal healthcare services.
Employment and Social Security
Addressing idleness and want has proven more challenging in Ghana. Despite the economic growth, the formal labour market has not expanded enough to create the necessary jobs for the surge in the number of job seekers.
Consequently, the informal economy has become the destination for millions of Ghanaians to display their entrepreneurial skills, fight idleness, and earn a livelihood.
The Ghana Labour Act provides protection and rights for all workers, including income replacement in old age, unemployment insurance, paid leave, and injury or illness insurance. However, these benefits are often inaccessible to those in non-standard employment (informal economy workers).
In response, informal social support mechanisms, including extended family support systems, susu (rotational savings groups), and community-based mutual aid, have flourished, providing a safety net for many Ghanaians outside the formal system.
Conclusion
While Ghana has made progress in addressing the social challenges through various initiatives, the approach has often been narrow in scope, resulting in piecemeal implementation that targets only a portion of the population.
This has led to exclusion and delivery errors, where those who need assistance are overlooked and resources misallocated.
For instance, in housing, informal settlements and community-driven initiatives continue to provide shelter for a large part of the population, often without state support. In education, informal apprenticeship schemes offer essential pathways for skill acquisition, particularly for those who are unable to access or afford formal education.
Similarly, non-standard forms of employment provide livelihoods for many, while traditional healers offer services that are more accessible and culturally relevant for many Ghanaians. These informal systems, while sometimes seen as a fallback option, are an integral part of Ghana’s social policy landscape. Nonetheless, this does not absolve the state from its responsibilities.
As Ghana continues to develop, critical attention should be given to social policy as a key tool for addressing the ongoing social challenges. Even in the well-established social policy regimes of the global north, such as the Nordic, Bismarckian, or Beveridgean models, the synergy between economic and social policy has yielded successful outcomes.
Economic and social policies are mutually reinforcing and must be integrated to create a resilient and inclusive social policy that effectively serves all Ghanaian citizens.
The writer is a Researcher and Consultant
